Thoughts, suggestions, and advice on success for managers, sales professionals and entrepreneurs.

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Monday, June 10, 2013

When is the best time to post on social media?

When
is the best time to post when social media is active 24/7?

To be successful, we have to manage our resources, and time spent with social media is one area that needs to be optimized. One way to do that is to determine the best times to reach your target audience. One method is trial and error. By using a link URL shortening likeBitly, Owl.lyor Goo.glthat also enables you to track activity on that link (e.g., how many times that link has been shared), can show you when you get the most action (likes, repins, retweets, etc.).There are also a variety of social media monitoring and reporting tools available; such as SocialBrothat provides daily reports on the best time to
tweet (days and times when the greatest percentage of
your twitter community). Another helpful tool you is Hootsuite's AutoScheduling which schedules your
messages at the best times to reach your audience.

There are lots of tools and apps that address most efficient/effective times to post on various social media ... if you have a favorite, leave a comment below. I'll be interested in your feedback, as will other readers of this blog.

For overall research (beyond just your followers) the infographic below details the best and worst times to post on Facebook and suggest you post during the following time periods: :

Facebook – between 10 am and 4pm
Monday thru Thursday.

Twitter – between 1pm and 3pm
Monday thru Thursday.

LinkedIn – between7 am to 9 am and 5pm to 6pm Tuesday thru
Thursday.

Google+ – between 9am to 11am on
workdays.

Pinterest – between 2pm to 4pm and 8pm to 1am on weekdays; best time to
pin: Saturday morning.

Although this infographic supplies useful data, remember that there is no "one size fits all" solution. Here are a few other things to consider:1. Your specific business including your target customers' behavior, your product or service, and the types of
messages you are posting. For example, the ideal time for a food truck to
post on Twitter is probably different than the ideal time for a bricks and mortar restaurant.2. Are your target customers/prospects in the same time zone as you? You might need to expand target times to compensate for geographic time differences. 3. If you post at peak times, will your post get "lost" in this peak activity time? Based on your product/service, think about the benefits of "off peak" as well "peak" posting times.

Do you have a favorite time to post to a specific social network or a tool or app that you have found effective in helping you get the most impact from your posts? Share your knowledge by leaving a comment below.